Yingying Lu, a second-year Ph.D. candidate in the Archer group, recently published a paper titled “Ionic liquid-nanoparticle hybrid electrolytes and their application in secondary lithium-metal batteries (LMBs)” in Advanced Materials. The article reports that suspensions of ionic-liquid functionalized nanoparticles (see figure) in high-dielectric constant liquid hosts manifest tunable transport properties, attractive electrochemical stability, and ability to retard growth of lithium dendrites in high-energy rechargeable lithium metal batteries (LMBs) (see Figure), which employ metallic lithium Li as the anode. The dendrite suppression ability of the electrolytes is discussed within the framework of a polarization model for dendrite growth. Based on the premise that local electric field-induced violation of electroneutrality in an electrolyte produces a space charge region near the electrode/electrolyte interface in a battery, the model contends that dendrites are driven by an instability in the electrodeposition front at the interface. By introducing a source of anions in the electrolytes, the ionic-liquid functionalized particles are thought to suppress the space charge and reduce the rate at which dendrites grow and propagate in a battery. Yingying further showed that the nanoparticle hybrid electrolytes are suitable for applications in both high-energy, Li/MoS2 and high-power, Li/TiO2 secondary batteries.